in an era when TVs, DVD players and Home theatre systems are slipping back into the "black shiny" look and feel, the retro feel Panasonic PT-150 is a sure winner with me.
Reason for purchase. After setting up my old fireplace as a "hole in the wall" entertainment system, I experienced one major problem with my Sony surround sount system. It stopped working. Reason being that old soot and debris had fallen down the chimney and filtered through the air vents into the workings and shorted it out! Not to be put off my my idea, i fixed the falling soot problem (expensive lesson!) and set out to buy a replacement Surround sound that fitted with the room and matched the other items. This would need it to be Silver in colour, the same width dimensions as the Sony ( to fit on the mounts) and thin in height (to fit in the narrow clearance). IT would also need the following conenctions so I could connect it directly to me set up. At least 1 Scart for the Sky X box, Phono plugs for connecting the Xbox 360 sound and built in DVD player to prevent buying a new separate box. The PT-150 did all of the above while coming in well on budget.
On visiting the various hi fi shops, i soon realised that most of the surround sound systems are well out of my price range now. I only wanted the reciever itself as I had the speakers in place from the old system. Therefore i was limited to a few models in Silver as this seems to be a less popular colour now.
On hearing the sound quality of the Panasonic, i was completely blown away. You would not believe that this is a budget system. It is clear and crisp with a great bass crunch coming from the small but punchy Subwoofer. It is much smaller than the Sony Subwoofer but im noy opintion has a great bass sound.
Functions are great. The DVD player built in is capable of playing CDs as well as MP3 CDs. It also has a front loading USB socket for hooking up to most MP3 players. A great addition and great location as it means no pulling te device out to plug it in. The Diplay is typical Digit style with a very basic look. No flash LCD screen but it does what it needs to. It tells you which setting it is currently on (AV for TV, AUX for Xbox 360, MP3 for USB port, DVD for DVD player and Radio for the FM built in Radio.
The Rounded Dial used for most control such as tuning the radio or selecting the MP3s as well as the volume is bold and very retro looking. Think 70\'s styling! The selectors for the input type are recessed and difficult to press with big fingers. The same can be said for the remote control. The buttons are small and fiddly and the layout is a bit difficult to master. It is also a bit on the bland side.
The speakers are quite plain looking but functional. They sound great if look a little dated. The top end sound is crisp and clear and the surround sound has things flying around the room. They also connect via bare wires as opposed to the awkward speaker plugs that came with the Sony. Easy to install!
Price. Great. This set me back just £149 from Comet about 3 months ago and i have not looked back. The sound is great, the set up was easy and the price was spot on. It delivers performance well above its price tag and for my money one of the finest budget surround sound systems on the market today.
Buy one if you can!
More details
Ease of Installation
Simple
Remote Control
Satisfactory
Instructions
Helpful / Easy to Follow
Durability
Good
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